Dear Mr. Wolf:

I am writing to you as a former follower of Prem Rawat (aka Maharaji, "Guru
Maharaj Ji" and "Lord of the Universe").  I was a devotee of Mr. 
Rawat from 1973 to 1983, and lived in Mr. Rawat's ashrams in various cities in the
USA for 9 of those 10 years, living under Mr. Rawat's directions of poverty, chastity
and obedience.  I used the word "devotee" because that is how Mr. Rawat
described his followers, and taught that his followers were to surrender and devote
theire lives to him as the living "Perfect Master" of our time, and in
fact, Mr. Rawat repeatedly described himself as the living incarnation of God on
Earth, the equivalent of Jesus Christ or Krishna, only greater.

Thousands of young people joined Mr. Rawat's cult in the 70s, many, including me,
becoming renunciates, giving all our money and talents to Mr. Rawat, and as you 
may have noticed, Mr. Rawat has become fabulously wealthy off the backs of his followers,
notwithstanding claims of Mr. Rawat being a "successful investor" he in
fact gained his money which he "invested" from his devotees, under the
pretense that he was God on Earth.  

Many of Rawat's former followers are very concerned that Mr. Rawat has attempted
to re-shape his image, pretending that he never made divine claims, and essentially
deleting from his history the period 1972 to 1995.  I hope that you are not an unwitting
participant in that revisionism.  But moreover, more than just showing people "peace,"
which is essentially nothing more than 4 meditation techniques that are widely available,
Mr. Rawat actually heads a personality cult, and many of his followers, mostly Middle-aged
from the 70s continue to believe he is God and continue to kiss his feet in ceremonies
over which Mr. Rawat presides.

Many of us also believe that the ideology that Mr. Rawat teaches is in fact dysfunctional,
teaching that the human mind prevents happiness, and in fact is a separate, diabolical
power that is out to prevent personal fulfillment.  Hence, the constant need for
Mr. Rawat, even after one receives knowledge.

You may know this history, but I feel it is important to point it out to you, as
I am concerned that you have become part of Mr. Rawat's PR campaign to try to get
new followers, something he had been virtually unable to do in the West in the past
20 years, and in fact has lost more followers than he has gained.

For more information on this, please check out a website put together by former 
followers of Mr. Rawat at:

www.prem-rawat-maharaji.info

You might also note that Prem Rawat's organization refers to people like me, indeed
anyone who openly is critical of Mr. Rawat as a "hate group."  This in
itself is an indication that Mr. Rawat is likely a cult leader, who cannot, and 
will not accept criticism, feedback, and will not address damage or mistakes, even
from former followers who gave him years of their lives.

You may see the attacks on former followers at http://www.elanvital.com.au/faq/idx/11/0/

I assure you, the allegations on that website are lies.

Attached is a picture of Mr. Rawat from the late 70s, when he was actively claiming
to be God.

By the way, I have often watched and enjoyed your food travel show on my local PBS
station, KQED in San Francisco.

Sincerely, 

Joe Whalen
San Francisco, California, USA